What’s on in York: Acomb Fair from tomorrow

Rather unexpectedly, the Acomb Fair is returning to the Thanet Road Sports area from tomorrow. Events like these had been hit by Coronavirus restrictions but the organisers posters outline a series of mitigations (hand sanitisers, limited numbers, cleaning, one way system). Face coverings are not mentioned.

Thankfully the blight of fly posting which sometimes occurs when fairs are around has not happened this year.

The announcement comes shortly after the Council admitted that most of the recent new COVID-19 positive test results involved children and other young people. There were 31 new cases identified in the City between 29th August and 4th September. Hospitalisations are understood to be low although no precise figures have been revealed by the authorities.

Schools have reopened this week and University students will start to arrive in the City shortly.

York Council to develop York’s residential care options for children and young people

City of York Council’s Executive will be asked to consider plans to transform York’s existing residential care provision for children and young people in care at a meeting next week.

“The proposals would enable the council to better meet the needs of children and young people aged 9-18 years of age in York who need a period of residential support, allowing them to remain near their families and local communities while receiving specialist care”.

The Executive will be asked to approve plans to buy three new two/three bedroom buildings to provide specialist nurturing environments for children and young people in small groups of similar age.

The council’s current home would be remodelled under the proposals to provide supported accommodation for young people aged 16-18 years of age, providing a transition to independent living.

Under the plans, specialist foster carers would help support children and young people when they leave the residential accommodation, helping them to make the move back to a family environment with foster carers or to independent living, depending on their age.

The new buildings would be operated in partnership with external providers specialising in providing evidence-based therapeutic support to children and young with complex needs.

The Executive will be asked to approve plans for the council to borrow £1.36m to purchase the new buildings, with the payments being met through the existing revenue budgets of the Children, Education and Communities Directorate

The plan will be discussed at a meeting taking place on 18th July

New ‘Local Offer for care leavers’ launched in York

Young people in York who have left care and those preparing to leave care can now find out what help and support they’re eligible for at a glance thanks to the launch of a new ‘Local Offer for care leavers’.

City of York Council has launched the online document to make it easier for young people to access the help they’re entitled to, including a range of support with accommodation, education, training and employment, developing life skills, health, mental health, and relationships.

The local offer highlights the City of York’s aspirations for care leavers and
following changes nationally, care leavers can now access support until they are 25 years of age, compared to 21 previously.

The Local Offer for Care Leavers was written and designed in partnership with members of York’s care leavers’ forum;  ‘I Still Matter’.

Young care leavers from the group, said: “‘We think the Local Offer for Care Leavers is really important because it ensures that care leavers are aware of their rights and entitlements, and gives them the relevant information to be able to create their own futures, whilst knowing where to go for support and advice”.

For more information about the support available visit www.york.gov.uk/LeavingCare or email pathwayteam@york.gov.uk or call 01904 555389

Local young people quizzed on recreational needs

Local Councillors Sheena Jackson and Stephen Fenton took the opportunity to ask young people what leisure facilities they would like to see developed when the Fair was in the area last week.

Stephen Fenton and Sheena Jackson prepare to survey local teenagers

The Fair was held at the Acorn Rugby Ground. The Acorn Rugby team have fared quite well in National League 1 this season. They have recorded 11 victories.

Across the road, the Beagle football team recorded another win on Saturday. They travelled to Bubwith where they forced a 2 – 1 victory. They are at home at Chesneys Field next Saturday when they host Stamford Bridge in a 2:00pm kick off.

The Foxwood Residents Association will be meeting on Wednesday. The local Police Inspector is expected to attend the meeting which is taking place at the Foxwood Community centre starting at 7:00pm. Details here. On the agenda will be a discussion about various anti social behaviour incidents which have taken place in the area over the last couple of months. The meeting is open to any resident living in the Foxwood area.

Sheena has reported an overgrown bush which is partly obstructing the path on Bellhouse Way

Residents will be undertaking a “walk about” in the area on Wednesday. They will be joined by housing managers and representatives from the JRHT. It is hoped that problems like overgrown bushes and trees will be identified and dealt with following the visits.

 

 

 

Liberal Democrat Councillor supporting young people’s voice across Yorkshire and the Humber

Ashley Mason with Members of Youth Parliament and Youth Council Leads from across Yorkshire and the Humber

Liberal Democrat and City of York Councillor, Ashley Mason, is taking a regional role to champion the voice of over 500,000 young people in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Cllr Mason, who has a track record in supporting the York Youth Council, has been supporting the regional Youth Work Unit to ensure young people have access to information and resources, in order to enable them to have their say in local and regional decision-making.

Cllr Mason is now working to create an online digital platform for all young people to access. It will contain useful information on how decisions are made, which bodies are responsible for services and what the role is of their elected representatives.

On Saturday the 18th November, Councillor Mason met with 12 young people, from respective Local Authorities, to discuss the creation of a possible digital platform. The discussion included Members of Youth Parliament and Youth Council from: Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, York, Doncaster, North Yorkshire, Rotherham, Barnsley and North East Lincolnshire.

Cllr Ashley Mason said:

“It was great to discuss my plans with these highly engaged and passionate young people. It was abundantly clear that there is a lot of disparity across the 12 local authorities, in regards to engagement and access to information. This new resource will help any young person wanting to learn more about organisations such as Councils and CCGs and in turn, help them influence the decisions that affect young people in their communities.

Cllr Mason added “I have given up a lot of my time to this project work; championing the voices of young people is something I feel very passionate about. It is so encouraging to have the full support of the young people I have spoken too and to hear what impact this could have. I am also very grateful to the Regional Youth Work Unit, who are equally as enthusiastic about this project as I am,”

The website is intended to be launched at the Young Peoples Convention in Northallerton, January 2018. The project is currently being self-financed by Cllr Mason, but anyone interested in supporting or contributing to this valuable project should email cllr.amason@york.gov.uk

Apprenticeship and training event in York on Thursday

City of York Council will be hosting the York Apprenticeship & Training event at West Offices on Thursday 31 August, 4-7pm.

This event will show young people what their options are for their next steps following the recent publication of A-Level and GCSE exam results.

Hundreds of apprenticeship vacancies throughout York will be on offer along with training and employment opportunities in business, finance, marketing, hospitality, engineering, construction, childcare and many other areas.

Employers confirmed include Nestlé, NFU Mutual, City of York Council, Network Rail, Gear 4 Music, Persimmon Homes and the Royal Air Force. There will also be a special spotlight on careers in the hospitality sector, with The Principal Hotel doing mocktail demonstrations, Marriott York making and serving canapés and Betty’s, Park Inn and Hilton Hotel available to talk to.

Councillor Keith Aspden, deputy leader of the council and responsible for economic development and York Skills Plan said, “This ever-popular event offers the chance for young people and their parents to meet recruiting employers, and gain support and advice on apprenticeship vacancies as they look to start their career.

“Young people are increasingly recognising that an apprenticeship has a great deal to offer in helping to build a successful career and can be of great benefit to businesses as well.

“We are happy to support young people and businesses with such events and as a council we are committed to helping businesses to create apprenticeship jobs and take on young talent to support their business grow.

I hope many young people take the opportunity to visit.”

More than 500 young people attended the York Apprenticeship Recruitment event in March.

As well as employers, young people will also be able to talk with apprenticeship training providers, current apprentices, local universities and support services offering 1 to 1 careers information, advice and guidance. Anyone attending is encouraged to bring a copy of their CV to distribute to potential employers.

The event takes place between 4pm and 7pm and is open to people aged between 16 and 24, along with their parents.

For more information on the event, contact the City of York Council-led York Apprenticeship Hub by emailing york.apprenticeships@york.gov.uk, phoning 01904 553732 or searching for the York Apprenticeships page on Facebook.

Westfield ward committee improvements – list published

The Council, has published a list of projects that will be funded from the Westfield ward delegated budget this year. Most other wards have announced similar lists. The Westfield list can be found by clicking here

Although covering 30 months of funding, the list does include schemes which have not yet got off the ground.

Amongst them are plans for diversionary activities in the beleaguered Chapelfields area.

Allocations include

  • £6,841 funding to tackle anti-social behaviour across the ward.  Out of that fund, £376 was allocated to pay for CCTV maintenance on Bramham Road between September 2017 to September 2018.
  • £1500  was transferred to tackle anti-social behaviour in the Chapelfields area.
  • £3,521 funding to tackle anti-social behaviour in the Chapelfields area

The Chapelfields programe is described as “a multi-agency team involving police, LAT and Public Health as well as local community groups who will seek to address anti-social behaviour through targeted diversionary activities for local children and young people. This will link to the Communities that Care programme which is being developed by the local police”.  £500 has been paid for Urbie sessions (a community youth activity bus project) in a local church car park. Further visits are expected in September

Residents have written to the Council asking for an update on the progress with these projects and a similar initiative at the Kingsway West MUGA which although allocated £2000 in the budget, also does not seem to have started yet.

We wish the authorities well in their attempts to defuse the situation.

Westfield survey priorities at 18th August 2017 (excluding Foxwood)

The results of the Ward Committees ballot, which sought residents priorities on use of its delegated budget, have not been published yet.

However the results of a similar door to door survey conducted by local Councillors are available.

So far over 1540 forms have been returned.

They show strong support for five projects.

These include funding for leisure activities for younger people and security improvements. 

 

 

Free young persons bus travel trial flops in York

Bus-Travel-Free-WeekendsThe Councils offer to provide free bus travel at weekends during January and February appears to have flopped.

During the first weekend in January, fewer than half the number of young passengers travelled by bus than had done so on the equivalent weekend in 2015!

The floods were blamed for a downturn in bus travel generally.

However, the following two weekends were also a disappointment for those who thought that cost was discouraging bus travel.

Figures revealed that a similar number of young people travelled by bus as had done so in January 2015.

The low take up means that only £28,000 of the allocated £100,000 budget has been used.

A meeting on 11th February is being recommended to terminate the trial at the end of February. It is likely that a survey of young people will be undertaken to try to better understand their transport needs.

 

Free bus travel for young people in January & February

YOzone_both_cards Youngsters in York aged 18 and under can travel by bus for free with a YOzone card every weekend throughout January and February.

All of York’s local bus operators, including First, Arriva, Transdev and Coastliner will be taking part in the free travel offer.

City of York Council’s free travel initiative was given the green light by the Executive Member for Transport and Planning,

Of course someone will have to pick up the cost of the scheme so it looks like taxpayers will get a bill for around £50,000.  (more…)

Lifestyle Awards recognise community-spirited North Yorkshire youngsters

 

The community spirit of youngsters in North Yorkshire has been recognised at a glittering awards ceremony.
North Yorkshire Police

The North Yorkshire Police Lifestyle Awards Ceremony took place at York Racecourse on Thursday 19 November. The event rewards those who took part in a competition over the summer holidays which encouraged groups of young people to carry out projects that improve their communities.

Now in its third year, one of the aims behind the Lifestyle Challenge is to give young people a voice in their community and the opportunity to make positive changes. Since 2013 it has seen hundreds of youngsters aged between 10 and 17 take part, with hundreds of hours of work put in to projects as varied as cleaning beaches, clearing the gardens of elderly or housebound residents, organising family fun days, bake sales, sports days and launching anti-crime initiatives.
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